TV Review: Priyanka-Deepika on 'Koffee With Karan'

Of all the episodes of Koffee With Karan this season, this particular one featuring divas Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone was the one episode I was looking forward to the most.

For one it features one of my favourite actresses, Priyanka and another because it features Deepika who’s only recently gone up in my eyes.

Secondly, from the initial promos at least, I was looking forward to seeing two contemporary actresses, just chill, giggle and let their hair down and lay to rest the old adage, that actresses can’t be good friends, and that they consistently have to bare the claws and try and get one up on each other to raise their stakes in the cut throat world that is tinsel town.

Up first was PC, looking rather fetching in a striped black and white dress and her hair tied back. PC seemed relaxed and it seems any animosity between her and host Karan Johar is a thing of the past. She spoke at length about her dual career both as a singer and an actress, and how she was crushed at not receiving the Filmfare for her sterling, sensitive turn as the autistic Jhilmil in Anurag Basu’s Barfi! losing out to Vidya Balan who won for Kahaani. She also reveals how her late dad persuaded her to stay on and cheer Vidya and be a sportsman, even after she was aware that she was not walking away with the coveted trophy.

PC then went on to reveal a lesser known fact, about her tattoo which reads ‘Daddy’s little girl’ is actually her dad’s handwriting, and in a touching moment the actress went on add that she’s completely over exhausting herself so that she doesn’t have the time or feel the need to think about Dr Ashok Chopra’s passing.

More notable perhaps was Deepika, who compared to her previous appearances on the chat show, was less awkward, seemed quietly confident, and perhaps, disappointingly, having learnt the tricks of the trade somewhat, has adapted a more diplomatic stance when it came to her personal life. She absolutely refused to cave when probed about her alleged romance with her Ram-leela co-star Ranveer Singh, and her bland answers on the ‘Rapid Fire’ round were a far cry from her previous appearance on the show where she spewed venom at ex Ranbir Kapoor, and caused a massive controversy with her forthright candor.

Both actresses, were a little dull, which was a bit of a shame, considering I was expecting some fireworks when they were probed about contemporaries Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor, although Deepika’s ‘charitable’ dig against Bebo did not go unnoticed and in hindsight was quite a clever answer.

The camaraderie between the leading actresses, was comfortable and it’s apparent that they are quite fond of each other outside of their respective work. PC seemed unfazed about DP’s growing popularity and in fact went on to emphasise that it was well deserved.

The Rapid Fire round which is usually the most interesting, was in this instance, anything but as both PC and DP refused to be anything but politically correct. PC won by a margin, probably because DP’s answers were so dire. Fair play though. At this stage she probably wants to avoid any controversy that could harm her soaring career. She did rate Ranveer as the better kisser above Ranbir and Saif Ali Khan though, so no doubt, that was enough to appease lover boy if nothing else.

In contrast, the subsequent quiz was a lot more entertaining, (preview below), with PC winning by a whisker.

Overall, the episode was still a fun watch, but I expected a lot more, especially since Deepika’s appearance with Sonam Kapoor in the previous season was still one of the best episodes of the TV show.

Koffee With Karan featuring Priyanka and Deepika has already aired in India and airs in the UK this weekend.

Have you already seen the episode? What did you think of it? Do let us know below!